A New World Order

What is possible is not independent of what we believe
to be possible. The possibility of such developments in
the practical world depends upon their being grasped
imaginatively by the people who make the practical
world work.

—Neil MacCormick1

TERRORISTS, ARMS DEALERS, MONEY LAUNDERERS, DRUG DEALERS, TRAFfickers in women and children, and the modern pirates of intellectual
property all operate through global networks.2 So, increasingly, do governments. Networks of government officials—police investigators, financial regulators, even judges and legislators—increasingly exchange
information and coordinate activity to combat global crime and address common problems on a global scale. These government networks
are a key feature of world order in the twenty-first century, but they are
underappreciated, undersupported, and underused to address the central problems of global governance.

Consider the examples just in the wake of September 11. The Bush
administration immediately set about assembling an ad hoc coalition of
states to aid in the war on terrorism. Public attention focused on mili-

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